This is my fifth year as a regular classroom teacher at Sonoran Science Academy. In addition to my teaching position, and starting 6 years prior to it, I have led the after school robotics program since 2002-2003 school year. So altogether, I've been with the school quite a while. Although Mr. Lujan will be teaching the Robotics classes (EETR) and leading Team CRUSH this year, I will remain active and supportive of robotics here at SSA. Through the early work with the CRUSH Robotics team and other work with youth over many years, I learned how enjoyable and rewarding working with students could be and the idea of teaching began to grow. In 2006 I began a teacher training program at UA and NAU, including a semester of student teaching at SSA. In June 2007 I retired from IBM after 30 years to start a new career in teaching. I have now finished the teacher training program and I'm one course from earning my MS in Education. My earlier degrees are a BS and MS in Electrical Engineering and an MS in Computer Engineering. Prior to starting this new chapter in my life, I enjoyed a wide variety of technical and managerial positions at IBM, and bring to teaching a wealth of experience in hardware, software, and systems engineering. I believe this experience enables me to offer a unique perspective to my students, relating the study of science and engineering, and education in general, to career and life choices and paths. I spent my youth in Cincinnati, Ohio, and have lived in numerous places during my career with IBM, including upstate and downstate New York, Boston, and Seville, Spain. In 1994 my wife Pam and I, with our two sons, moved to Tucson on the northwest side. Pam is an Expressive Arts Therapist, Creativity Coach, and Addictions Counselor, and formerly an Art, History, and Humanities teacher. My older son Tobin finished his Civil Engineering work at U of A in spring of 2011. My younger son Korbin lives in Olympia, WA and will begin studying at Evergreen State College in the fall of 2011. Outside of school I keep very busy preparing lessons and grading the papers that my students keep so busy creating. But when I can take a break from that, I enjoy hiking and camping, cooking and eating, reading novels and poetry, and gazing at sunsets and starry night skies. Mr. Bennett's professional resumé is available here. Updated 8/5/2010 |
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